Zotero standalone doesn't follow date/time format set in Windows Control Panel

beogl
I set another date/time format in Windows Control Panel than the default for the language I prefer to use for my pc. (Since English-speaking countries does not follow ISO standards for time format.)

Zotero is probably missing that setting.
  • adamsmith
    There's a long thread on date-time display setting in Standalone somewhere and it's pretty complicated (though I can likely find the thread if it's important), but can I ask why you need a specific date/time setting in Zotero?
    You realize that this won't affect citation styles and that you can sort by date in the middle column either way?
  • beogl
    Thanks adamsmith. Too bad they made this complicated (I guess it is in XUL-runner.)

    Yes, I realize it does not affect citation styles and that I still can sort.

    The problem I see is that the choosen date/time style in Zotero is very hard to read for many/most people (that are not native English-speaking). Why not use the ISO time format by default? It is much quicker to read/compare - and shorter! I quess no one would find that hard to read.
  • adamsmith
    while this thread is a bit of a disaster, everything we know about the topic is in there: https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/6797/zotero-appearance-how-do-i-change-date-format-in-date-added/
    But I don't think Firefox ever picks up the date format from the control panel, so what you want to do definitely doesn't work and won't work in the future, either. (Though UK English would give you a more standard date format, I believe).

    (And I find ISO time incredibly uncomfortable to read, so I strongly agree with Dan we shouldn't be using that.)
  • beogl
    Hm, for the rest of the world the current time format is incredibly uncomfortable to read. I strongly suggest changing to the international format: 2013-09-08 19:40 :-)
  • adamsmith
    As per that thread, date formats follow system locales, so the rest of the world isn't getting US dates. If you install a locale on your computer and don't like its date format, I'm sorry to say that's really not Zotero's problem.

    And, as a reminder, I'm part of the rest of the world. I'm fine with localized German date formats, too, I just _really_ don't want to read ISO date formats and as Dan says in the other thread, that seems to be a universal sentiment among GUI designers.
  • beogl
    Hm, more complicated than I thought: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_format_by_country

    Good thing is that I now have learned that US uses MDY and most other non-ISO countries (i.e. the vast majority, including Germany) uses DMY.

    But my standalone Zotero uses MDY - which is the most confusing to me. (I have to scan the list to understand whether it is MDY or DMY, of course, but I blame it on MDY... ;-) ) I wonder where it comes from. The language on my pc (windows 7) is "English (United Kingdom)" and UK is using DMY according to Wikipedia.

    Is it perhaps some setting in Firefox (that I can't find)?

    And actually it is not a huge problem. More a surprise. ;-) Whenever I happen to program I use ISO-format for lists/tables and perhaps dd mmmm yyyy in texts.
  • beogl
    Found it in Firefox. Installed UK English dictionary and language pack.

    Zotero standalone however think I still need no green card. I am treated as US. ;-)

    Anyway, thanks for your time and effort, adamsmith.
  • Tess Baxter
    Continuing this long running issue. Windows 10 clean install set to UK time and UK location. Firefox is set to en-GB (English (United Kingdom)). In Firefox, Zotero shows UK time format, in Standalone, it doesn't: the inconsistency is worse than having the wrong one. It's a great program for many reasons, but this is one persistant irritation.
  • adamsmith
    See my link above. There is a reliable solution to this.
  • Tess Baxter
    Thanks Adam. I found that thread to be something of a maze, and I skimmed the added drama (as I usually do in forums) so passed over. Digging down, the solution from Simon August 21, 2012 worked for me.
  • adamsmith
    yeah, sorry about that thread...
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